SCI-Arc: Leaders of Change

If you know architecture, or think you know architecture, you know SCI-Arc. You know SCI-Arc is a place for leaders – the leaders of change, the leaders of a new vision, the leaders of new technologies, the leaders of our rapidly-expanding field.SCI-Arc is architecture now.

Now, under the directorship of visionary architect, Hernan Diaz Alonso, SCI-Arc is entering its most exciting era to date. SCI-Arc has always been on the cutting edge of architecture – the passion for design/build in the 1970s, the era of public works in the 1980s, the critical period of the 1990s, and the coming of the digital in the early 2000s – but today, SCI-Arc is setting the edge. With the largest advanced fabrication lab on the West Coast – replete with an army of 3D printers, powder printers, laser cutters, CNC mills and casting equipment, at the ready for any enrolled student – students are encouraged to use materials to discover new forms and new aesthetic effects in architecture. With end-arm technologies and rapid prototyping in an advanced Robotics Lab, students will graduate ready to innovate in all stages of the design lifecycle. Top design faculty and noted architectural theorists actively design the curriculum, and deliver their instruction in state-of-the-art classrooms and studios. Guest lecturers and critics, Pritzker Prize winners and AIA Fellows, routinely join the conversation, look at the work of students, and help shape the future of architecture.

Now, SCI-Arc is emerging as a perfect place for training tomorrow’s visionaries. Today, no profession benefits without outside-of-the-box and original thinking, and no practice benefits without staying ahead of the technological curve. Preparing students to compete in this new global workplace is a complex matter. No one-way degree ticket will work. There is no longer a single path. An education at SCI-Arc is an education that understands that professional success will require a heady mix of design fused with high-level liberal arts; instruction in media, fashion, and film; and a concerted eye towards a changing global setting. An architectural education at SCI-Arc means redefining the scope of the profession. It means advanced study in urbanism and real estate. It means focused study on professional practice, ethics, and design construction. And, it means regular and daily contact with design professionals – architects, urban planners, and engineers - committed to shaping the future of the built environment. Degree progress at SCI-Arc is aimed at licensure – with many opportunities for internship and apprenticeship at some of the most prestigious and innovative architectural firms in Los Angeles and worldwide. At SCI-Arc, a creative mind is a potential powder keg of ideas – and the faculty work like coaches to train you to be the best and most explosive you that you can become.

Now, there is no longer a one-size-fits-all approach to education or to life. SCI-Arc is the only free-standing architectural institute in the United States. With a B.Arch program, two M.Arch programs and post-graduate programs SCI-Arc EDGE with four programs of study. Master of Science in Architectural Technologies. To be driven by a consideration of technology’s relationship to architecture.

Master of Arts in Fiction and Entertainment. This program is focused on building new forms of architectural practice allied with the worlds of film, fiction, animation, marketing, games, and documentary. Master of Science in the Design of Cities. The majority of the world’s population now lives in cities. This trend is only going to accelerate. How are we to understand the design of cities when urbanization is now a planetary phenomenon. Master of Science in Design Theory and Pedagogy, this program addresses a new kind of career that has emerged in architecture. In recent years, a new kind of architect-theorist-educator has become a progressively important voice in design culture.

With small student-teacher ratios, individual academic counseling, and a curriculum culminating in Thesis, students are nurtured through individual attention in an environment where you are known by your name. Visit SCI-Arc in downtown Los Angeles, at the heart of the vibrant Arts District, and you will see a unique atmosphere of open and friendly discourse. With few walls, and no private offices, SCI-Arc is a lively place filled with juried reviews, small lectures, good food, and a near-constant schedule of school events from gallery openings to Friday evening parties.Now is the time to rethink an architectural education.Now is the time to speculate on the future.SCI-Arc is now.